The Nagas of Vindhyatabi were a royal dynasty ruling over Northern Odisha during the 2nd century A.D to 4th century A.D (possibly between 261 A.D to 340 A.D) from their seat at Vindhyatabi, also called Vindhyatavi (identified with modern-day

Keonjhar Kendujhar is a town with municipality in Kendujhar District in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kendujhar district, and it is one of the fifth scheduled areas of Odisha. Climate Politics Mohan char ...

Satrubhanja Satrubhanja (Odia language, Odia : ଶତ୍ରୁଭଞ୍ଜ) was a warrior and emperor who belonged to the Vindhyatabi branch of Nagas of Padmavati, Nagavanshi rulers that ruled from Keonjhar district of Odisha in the early 4th century A.D (po ...

, the famous warrior-emperor, belonged to this dynasty.

History

This dynasty was probably a branch of the Naga house, from which many rulers were descended and who ruled many kingdoms and principalities for the short duration between the fall of the

Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...

and the rise of the

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gol ...

. A ruler of this dynasty, Manabhanja with title of ''

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

'', "had added to his glory in a hundred clashes in war with the Devaputras". The '' Devaputras'' mentioned here are obviously the

Kushanas The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...

. This suggests that the Nagas of Vindhyatabi joined hands with confederation of Indian rulers, led by the Bharashiva Nagas to overthrow the Kushan rule in India.

was the greatest and most powerful ruler of this dynasty. He was the son of ''

'' Manabhanja and his queen Mahadevi Damayanti. He distributed a huge amount of wealth around a large part of northern, central and eastern India which provides an image of his territorial expanse.

Decline

Almost no Naga rulers of Vindhyatabi are known after

. Sitabhinji in Keonjhar district of Odisha has revealed that it was an ancient holy place of

Shaivism Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...

promoted by the Naga rulers of

as the cave arts found there provide a glimpse of a possible descendant of Satrubhanja who went by the name Disabhanja. The Bhanjas emerged as leading chieftains succeeding the Nagas of the Vindhyatabi in the

Kendujhar Kendujhar is a town with municipality in Kendujhar District in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kendujhar district, and it is one of the fifth scheduled areas of Odisha. Climate Politics Mohan char ...

and

Western Odisha Western Odisha or the western part of Odisha, India, extending from the Kalahandi district in the south to the Sundargarh district in the north. History Historically It's a region of 'Greater Kalinga' & ruled by various dynastys. *Mahameghava ...

region, inheriting their territories.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{refend History of Odisha Dynasties of India Hindu dynasties